BLM sees El Paso CAPA pushed to back burner

A lengthy process for the Bureau of Land Management's El Paso Collaborative Access Planning Area process has been put on a lower rung as the federal agency handles a larger priority, according to a local BLM official.

Comment

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Posted May. 25, 2013 at 10:40 AM
Updated May 25, 2013 at 10:44 AM

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Posted May 25, 2013 at 10:40 AM
Updated May 25, 2013 at 10:44 AM

A lengthy process for the Bureau of Land Management's El Paso Collaborative Access Planning Area process has been put on a lower rung as the federal agency handles a larger priority, according to a local BLM official.

"We will be working through the rest of the West Mojave Plan amendment," said Craig Beck, Ridgecrest BLM's Outdoor Supervisor and chief contact for the plan. "That is kind of taking priority over other areas."

The WEMO Plan amendment process is the result of a 2009 summary judgment and 2011 remedy order by U.S. Superior Court Judge Susan Illston following a lengthy lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and 10 other groups against the BLM and U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2006.

The 2011 remedy order insisted that the BLM's "decision tree" process for designating off-highway vehicle routes was flawed when it came to preserving endangered flora and fauna, thus violating sections of the National Environmental Protection Act.

Additionally the court found that the BLM failed to observe its own policies over the years, resulting in hundreds of unauthorized OHV routes.

The court ordered the BLM to restart its public hearing for those route designations while keeping the original WEMO guidelines for wildlife conservation intact.

Beck said the final plan had a deadline of March 31, 2014.

"We're creating the alternative plan and we are shooting for late summer or early fall to release the results for public review," Beck said.

During that public review period, the BLM will take public comment and input on the revised plan before heading back to the final drawing board.

"The BLM will take the comments and we'll adjust the plan accordingly," he said. "'It's a process of 'you might have overlooked this or you missed this part' and we'll amend it."

He said however, it did not affect just OHV access and routes.

"It is about all forms of access and route travel, from OHVs to hiking, horse riding and bicycle riding," Beck said.

El Paso CAPA

On the El Paso CAPA front, Beck said the process would be slow to kick off but would move along.

"This summer Carl (Symons) is going to get the framework together," Beck said Thursday.

Symons is the field manager for the BLM Ridgecrest office.

Beck indicated the BLM was still in the process of sorting through public comments and details over the plans from a set of public hearings held in October and November 2012.

He said the CAPA process is separate from WEMO court mandate.

"As far as I know the CAPA process is not court mandated," Beck said.

But the region affected is part of the larger WEMO project area, with some concern that more than 30 years worth of planned routes are in jeopardy.